Some 1.25 million people die each year as a result of road traffic crashes, according to a new report Monday released by World Health Organization(WHO).
The report, titled Global status report on road safety 2015, noted the number of road traffic deaths is stabilizing even though the number of motor vehicles worldwide has increased rapidly. In the last three years, 79 economies have seen a decrease in the absolute number of fatalities while 68 economies have seen an increase.
"Road traffic fatalities take an unacceptable toll, particularly on poor people in poor countries," said Director-General of WHO Margaret Chan.
"We're moving in the right direction," added Chan. "The report shows that road safety strategies are saving lives. But it also tells us that the pace of change is too slow."
The report highlighted that road users around the world are unequally protected. The risk of dying in a road traffic crash still depends, in great part, on where people live and how they move around.
A big gap still separated high-income economies from low- and middle- income ones where 90 percent of road traffic deaths occur in spite of having just 54 percent of the world's vehicles. Europe, in particular the region's wealthier countries, has the lowest death rates per capital.
Specifically, motorcyclists are particularly vulnerable, making up 23 percent of all road traffic deaths. In many regions this problem is increasing. In the Southeast Asia and Western Pacific regions a third of all road traffic deaths are among motorcyclists.
In addition, pedestrians and cyclists are also among the groups with the least protection, making up 22 percent and 4 percent of global road traffic deaths respectively.
The report also found that some vehicles sold in 80 percent of all countries worldwide fail to meet basic safety standards, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where nearly 50 percent of the 67 million new passenger cars were produced in 2014.
